Jack loved his swing when he was little, so we didn't rock him too much. Then when he transitioned out of the swing, we wanted him to be able to learn to fall asleep on his own and self soothe, so we didn't rock him too much.

I was kinda annoyed that that wonderful rocking chair was put to so little use! I was ready to move it into the soon-to-be nursery when we redid his room. Until these last few weeks.

These days, Jack is loving a little rocking before he goes to bed. I'm sure it makes him sleepy, but really I think he loves the routine of it, the laying down on Mommy or Daddy's shoulder for a minute before he gets in his bed. He never falls asleep or even dozes off, it's really just a little snuggle time before bed. And I adore it. He gets in his sleep sack (yes, we're still using them), and sits in our lap to read, what else, Goodnight, Moon (where he points out the red balloon and every other object we read goodnight to, and even whispers, "Shhhhhhhhh" at the appropriate times), turn off the light, and he snuggles in while we say our bedtime prayer, and then we rock for just another minute, before he sits up, and points to the bed.

It's brief, but it's wonderful. I can't help but think, every night, that this won't last forever. And while I'm kinda glad that training for time outs won't last forever, I find myself crying that this won't last forever.

I've heard about it, but hadn't been until 3 weeks ago. And....it changed my life.

There is a shady looking little grocery store up in my hood called Town Talk. I'd heard about it, but was kinda nervous to try it. What I'd heard was that it was a grocery close out store with great prices, since a lot of the stuff was close to or beyond it's expiration date. You know I love a good deal, but I'd heard it was shady!

Then I went to a fabulous dinner party where the entire girls table talked about it....and talked about it, and talked about it. They shared stories, filled with their good deals and savings triumphs. They said it wasn't really that shady! They said that since it's close out stuff, there are never the same things there twice, and the catch is to watch for expiration dates on things like diary, but there was tons of good stuff. They said Whole Foods delivered their close out stuff on Mondays, to be put out on Tuesdays. And the straw that broke the camel's back was....they said they'd gotten YoBaby organic yogurt pack for a dollar. They're close to $3 at Target. Um, I can't even do that with coupons.

So, I did it. I took the plunge.

My first trip, I left Jack at home with Jeff (I mean, what if it really was shady???) and set off, still a little nervous, but hopeful, thinking the whole time about that YoBaby. I pulled up, got a cart, and got started. I'm not kidding you, it was like heaven to me. I can't believe I've lived here this long and haven't been!!!! Oh, the money I've been wasting!!!

A tub of parmesan cheese? One dollar. A Kashi pizza? Two fifty. Earth's Best organic snack crackers for Jack? Fifty nine cents. (Um, are you kidding me?) Tropicana's new 50/50 orange juice? One dollar. Brown Land of Lakes eggs? One dollar. Corn dogs? One fifty. (What? I'm pregnant!) Lean Cusines for a dollar. A box of Nutri-Grain bars for a dollar. Babybel cheese? Two fifty. A huge bag of Pirates Booty that sells for sells for $8 at Costco for A DOLLAR!! Yes, the bag expires in the middle of June. Do you think my toddler will care if they're a bit stale? And honestly, I don't think it will be.

The fridge at TT is always stocked with a ton of yogurt, mostly expired, but I've heard from my sources that yogurt is good for well beyond it's date or you can freeze it! They also had Horizon milk for a dollar. One dollar!! And this week, a ton of spinach and artichoke dip, the Tom Thumb deli brand, for a dollar. And it's good!!!

And this week....I found just what I had been hoping for!! Earth's Best organic baby yogurt pack for......a dollar! Woohoo!!!! I win!! I also found Annie's Fruit Snacks for a dollar. Ya'll that's already a 75% savings on just those two items.

I will say, it's definitely good to know what you usually buy something for when you go in there, because some items are the same price as at a grocery store, but over all, it's pretty much amazing. Since we've been budgeting and couponing for a while now, I have a semi good grasp on how much things are and I think that definitely helps me....at least helps me feel more triumphant at the end of my trip!

My favorite part of the whole thing is what some people would hate. You never know what you're going to get. There is no use going with a list. Sure, there's always pasta, there's always cheese, but other than that, you just never know! Isn't that so fun??

Yesterday Jack came home from Mother's Day Out and was singing something he learned.....he loves to sing, and knows every word of what he sings by heart, but usually I have no idea what in the world he's singing. But yesterday, I caught on!

It sounded like maybe he was singing Row Row Row Your Boat, so I chimed in and started singing along....it was adorable how his face lit up!! He was so excited that I knew the same song he did!

And then he spent 10 minutes trying to get Vincent to sing along with him.

"Row, row, row.....Sinse? Row, row, row.....Sinse? Row, row? Sinse?"

For 10 minutes. Needless to say, Vincent didn't catch on, but his persistence was priceless!!

Well.....we have successfully transitioned to the big bed!!! Woohoo! The day of the big switch, we talked about the bed, laid on the bed, talked about how we sit on our bottom on the bed, looked at all the Monks on the bed, got excited when we saw that Monk was holding balloons on the bed, got ready for bed, read Goodnight Moon, and went to bed....and went to sleep....all night. For real. It was like no big deal! The only thing that's gone wrong is that he rolled out of bed at my Dad's house this weekend....but it was onto carpet, and he went back in the bed like a champ the next day! Y'all, I was so nervous about this. And it went great! Yay!!!

Jack is talking up a storm these days. The cutest thing is that when Jeff calls home to say hi, he'll actually tell "Dada" what he's been doing! To the trained ear, you can hear him say that he's been eating cheese, the cat at my mom's house is outside, and he went swimming with Vincent. So cute. He also loves to talk to the boy in the mirror. The funniest thing is when he offers his cup of milk to him and then immediately says, "NO!", hugs it close, and walks away. Really?

He also loves to give high 5's. And when one person in the room gives a high 5, EVERY person in the room has to give a high 5. He's been known to walk around a dinner table multiple times, making sure he's given a high 5 to everyone. And, obviously, he likes to give Vincent high 5's. Which is a little difficult, but we make it work. A few days ago, he started asking people on TV to give him a high 5. Adorable.

Jack's going through a stage where he wants to....let's just say, get physical. And by that, I mean, push, hit, and wrestle other children to the ground. It's not a proud Mama moment, when you're on a playdate, and you see your child walk up to another child who has a toy he likes, act like he's pulling him in for a hug, then wrap his arms around said child for the sole purpose of throwing them to the ground. That's not fun. We've started time outs. And I hate it because at this point, the only time he needs a time out is around other kids.......but, the time outs seem to be somewhat effective, so we'll go with it! We're also working on saying, "No" if someone is doing something he doesn't want them to do instead of pushing and hitting. Oy.

Ever since we've loved the Beats, Jack's been into music. But ya'll it's for real. This kid will sing, play his guitar, drum, and shake his shakers all day long! It is not uncommon for him to pass out instruments to everyone in the room, so we can all be involved in the music fun! It's pretty stinkin' cute. He has gotten Jeff to the point where he puts Jack's drum around his neck and marches around the coffee table while Jack marches behind him, pumping his golf club up and down, chanting, "March, march, march!" Hilarius, I tell you!

He's started to be a little more interested in art and will sit and color or play with play-dough for quite a while, which is fun! He's learning his colors and although he isn't all that accurate, he's getting it!

I'm 15 weeks pregnant today, and feeling pretty good! I can feel the little one now and then, which is pretty darn fun. We've started telling Jack there's a baby in Mommy's tummy.....and he responds with pointing at Jeff's stomach and insisting there's a baby in there. So, we have some work to do on that one! :)

Remember back in middle school when you would snatch a few Teen Bop magazines from a friend and feverishly cut out the latest pic of New Kids on the Block (they weren't quite NKOTB yet) and tack it up between your Cory pictures (plural....there's more than one, you know!) from last week?

Well, this is like the grown up version of that....replacing your Teen Bop's with the internet and your push pins for a mouse click.

I love that you can make your own boards for what you're doing....

I have one for Jack, with all the new things for his room and things he'd just love, like Elmo cupcakes and Jello with gummy fish floating in the middle.

I have one for J-Babe #2. Yes, it's mostly girly stuff. Hold my hand if she turns out to be a he.

It's super fun to find things that I think I can replicate...like painted mason jars to grow herbs in, or the kids art gallery wall.

And it's the perfect pregnant girl thing to do...find things that look absolutely delicious and fantasize about them, wish you would make them, know you wouldn't, and settle on being satisfied with just gazing at the beautiful jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich or double chocolate espresso sandwich cookies w/ peanut butter frosting.